(From left to right): Mr A.P. Sood, Joint Managing Director, The Residency Towers, Mr Ravi Appaswamy, Managing Director, The Residency Group of Hotels, and Mr K.C. Tharyan, Executive Director, The Residency Group of Hotels, at a press conference in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI, April 5

IN a departure from the general practice of dual tariff, Residency Towers in Chennai, which will open for business on April 7, has come out with a single tariff of Rs 2500.

Mr Ravi Appaswamy, Managing Director, The Residency Group, said that the hotel is positioned in the four star premium category and will adopt a single room tariff for both domestic and foreign guests.

This is the second Residency hotel in the city and fourth in the chain. The group currently operates hotels in Coimbatore and Bangalore, besides Chennai.

The project is an equal joint venture between the Delhi-based Sood & Sood builders and SAS Hotels Enterprises, the hospitality arm of the Appaswamy group.

The total investment is estimated to be around Rs.50 croes, with a debt equity ratio of 1:1.

Mr Appaswamy said that while both the groups had contributed to the equity components, the debt portion had been raised through a loan from Andhra Bank.

The Appaswamy Group will manage the hotel

The hotel has 176 rooms, theme restaurants, convention halls and car parking facilities (two basement floors) for around 180 to 200 cars. The 24-hour restaurant with an interactive kitchen has the ambience of a recreated European street. The bar has old world charm, with beer barrels, old prints and a 1945 Norton motorcycle suspended from the ceiling.

The southern speciality restaurant is recreated in Chettinad style with original wooden pillars and paintings from this region.

Mr Appaswamy said the project is spread over 26 grounds and 30 per cent of the land has been taken up for the building, while the rest will be used for the car park and landscaping. The 16-floor hotel is being opened in a phased manner with four floors opening initially.

There will be 11 theme-based suites, two executive club floors with a lounge, one suite floor, six banquet halls with a capacity of 100 to 1000. The hotel also has a business centre, swimming pool, health club and a spa.

Women guests will come in for some special treatment, as there will be an exclusive ladies lounge and ladies floor. Mr Appaswamy said that this was in response to the market demand and going by the company's experience in the other hotels there is an increased number of women executive travelling on business.

The group with a turnover of Rs 71 crore has plans to expand into other cities. It also plans to promote and manage hotels across the country with a focus on the southern markets.